Blog Posts

Nurses Week

Nurses, like most healthcare professionals, struggle with work/life balance. This stems from the reason that most of us pursued a career in healthcare – an innate desire to care for others.

Your interest in the field may have developed from early exposure to some aspect of healthcare. A family member or personal experience with your own or someone else’s medical issues can ignite the passion for the art of caring for others.

That passion for making a difference in the lives of patients, families and those we work with takes center stage for most nurses in the industry. There are times when our personal needs are put aside, our schedules changed and, sadly, family milestones are missed to execute our craft to the best of our abilities. This apparent oversight is never intentional, but it often creates conflict in our home lives.

It’s a constant struggle to find that delicate balance. This was brought to my attention by my then-5-year-old son, who asked me at the dinner table one evening several years ago, “Mom, are you going to be a nurse forever?” It was a strange question, to be sure, but our dinner table was usually where I’d recount my day in the emergency department. I answered honestly, “Of course I’ll be a nurse forever.” He then bluntly retorted, “Well, then you will never see your grandkids!” and promptly went back to eating his macaroni and cheese. Out of the mouths of babes … I have thought about that question many times throughout the rest of my almost 30-year career. I use it as a barometer when whatever in my professional career seems to be consuming all of my time, or I have inadvertently missed something important in my “outside life.”

Those close to you – your family and friends – deserve your attention and time. A true balance of both only makes you stronger, and both parts of your life get better. And, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that it’s also important to take time to care for yourself. We cannot effectively take care of others if we are not taking care of ourselves. I wrote a blog article with some tips you may find useful.

The impact that we are able to make on the world through a career in healthcare, and in nursing in particular, is immeasurable. That is undeniable, and truly makes the world a better place.

Ginger Wirth, RN, joined Envision Physician Services in 2013 as a divisional director of clinical services. Her goal is to make positive changes in healthcare by helping others focus on quality, excellence, and the overall patient experience. Wirth regards her role as the ideal opportunity to partner with nursing, physicians and facility leaders to make positive changes to the entire patient care experience. Her nearly 30-year nursing career has been dedicated to quality and excellence, promoting overall positive outcomes and safety for patients.

I have a plaque my mother gave me when I graduated from nursing school that says, “Nursing is the gentle art of caring.” I believe that’s been my mantra throughout my career.

It all started when I was a premed student working at a hospital as a nurse assistant on weekends and holidays. This particular weekend I was assigned to the pediatric floor. We had a tragic patient, a 6-year-old boy who had survived a home invasion with only a laceration across his neck. His mother was not so lucky; she was killed protecting her son. Because patients stayed in the hospital longer 30 years ago when this happened, the child was still in the hospital a week later when it was time to remove the stitches from his neck. A bunch of strangers walked into this child’s room armed with scissors and tweezers, going for his neck … of course he freaked out! We retreated to the nursing station to regroup. The decision was made to sedate him first. The doctor wrote the order and off he went. The nurse reassured the child and stayed with him while the medication was given and he drifted to sleep. The doctor then came back and removed the stitches.

After that experience, I changed my mind and applied to the nursing program. I realized my passion was with the hands-on care of patients rather than writing orders and diagnosing patients. 30 years later, this has been an incredible career and I have new, wonderful experiences every day. I’ve had the honor of sharing someone’s first day of life and, just as important, someone’s last. I’ve also been a patient and have received nursing care, bringing my career full circle.

A Look Back

I’ve been thinking back on my career and how incredible the last 30 years have been. How amazing to have been a nurse during this time of rapid computer and technology advances. When I first started nursing there were no cell phones; we used the intercom system to find one another. If a patient needed a croup tent, we made it ourselves. We had a metal trough we hooked to the bed, filled it with ice and put a clear plastic covering over the bed.

The doctors and nurses all gathered around the chart rack and we hand wrote everything in the chart. As a young nurse I learned a lot as the doctor discussed patients with the head nurse. I remember wearing my hat, white hose and shoes. How the uniform has changed! We even smoked at the nurses’ station!

I then transferred from pediatrics to emergency care, and that is where my passion ignited. I loved the “knife and gun club,” as it was called. The adrenaline rush and never knowing what the next patient would be. I loved trauma. My favorite was “car codes,” as we called it. That’s when a gunshot victim arrived in a private car unconscious in the back seat. We mixed our own IV bags, poured medication from large, communal bottles, put plaster casts on patients, and drew labs and blood gases.

I’ve been part of some great teams that saved lives, brought some back from the dead and, sadly, watched some slip through our hands. I have seen the destruction of a body from drugs and neglect. And I’ve seen babies appear when there was no pregnancy. I left emergency nursing for five years and had the honor to work with hospice. That’s where I saw the full circle of life. I went from saving every life we could to making every death the best it could be. “The art of caring” may be a warm hug or a tough conversation about why we’re not administering any more narcotics; both are very caring activities.

I now help facilities become more efficient and make the patient experience the best it can be. I love my job now as much as I did 30 years ago. I am blessed to be a nurse.

Sabrina Griffin, BSN, is a Divisional Director of Clinical Services for EmCare.

It's National Nurses Week! A few of the amazing nurses on our team shared why they entered the profession - and a few photos from yesteryear. Get ready to be inspired!

Janice Beck

I decided to become a nurse after growing up with my older brother by 15 months, Mack, who had cerebral palsy. My father worked three jobs: engineer on railroad, correction officer at a local prison, and cashier at an ABC store. My mother worked three jobs as well: welder full-time, seamstress, and laundress on the side. We had several older siblings who would step in and out helping, but they didn’t live with us. It was up to my little sister, brother and me to care for Mack while our parents worked, anywhere from 12 to 14 hours day.

It was heartbreaking to watch his limbs contract over the years, and he had multiple seizures every day. When he wasn’t hurting, he had the most amazing smile that made all of the work worth it. I met the love of my life when Mack was still alive, and Mike would help take turns watching him as well. To this day, Mike, my little sister, brother and I are forever united as one. Mack was my inspiration to become a nurse and was the inspiration for my sister to pursue the profession as well.

My parents divorced when I was four months old and my mother's parents played a huge part in helping raise me and my siblings. My grandmother was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease when I was in junior high. Growing up, I watched her struggle with the disease and saw it take her freedom on a day-to-day basis. By the time I graduated high school, the disease had pretty much taken over her body. She had her good days where she could get around pretty well, but other days I remember her crawling through her house because that was the only way she could get around.

I spent a lot of my spare time while I was in high school and shortly after helping my grandfather take care of my grandmother. Then he was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. It was a huge blow to our entire family, but especially my grandmother. My family all pitched in to take care of both of them for quite some time. When my grandfather’s health declined further, we had to make the decision to move them into assisted living. The first night in the assisted-living center my grandfather started having seizures. He was transported to our local hospital, where he died two days later. At that point, my grandmother's disease had left her unable to care for herself. Her mind was still intact, but her body didn’t want to cooperate. I felt horrible for her; after 52 years she was alone. It was then that I decided to become a nursing assistant so that I could work in the nursing home where my grandmother lived. I worked mainly night shifts, where I got to spend my evenings with her and have breakfast with her after every shift. I was in college but my major was headed toward a business degree, since my father owned a large trucking company and I wanted to go into the family business. I knew deep down that wasn’t what I wanted to do with my life, but the thought of nursing school scared me. I had many conversations with my grandmother about nursing and she always encouraged me to follow my dream. Eventually she started to develop dementia and no longer remembered me. By this time my husband and I had our first child and decided to move from Iowa to Wisconsin. Shortly after I left, my grandmother passed away. When I went to her funeral, I barely recognized her; she’d lost so much weight and didn’t look like the same strong lady that I remembered.

Years passed and I worked different office jobs. I knew this was not what I wanted to do with my life, but I needed to help provide for my family. Shortly after my second child was born, my mom and I came across some boxes from my grandparents’ house. In one of those boxes, I found my grandmother's journals. Reading about her life and her disease from her perspective was an eye-opening experience. I could see the disease progress just by looking at her handwriting. When she went into the nursing home, she often mentioned me in her journal. She wrote about how much she loved having me around, how she hoped I’d become a nurse and how proud that would make her. I remember crying and thinking how I had failed her. At that moment I made the decision to figure out a way to make it work. The next week when I returned home I contacted the local college and enrolled in nursing school. I worked a full time job, raised two children, and went to school full-time. It was a rough couple years but my husband and I made it work! I've never been more proud of anything I've ever done (besides having my kids).

Being exposed to the medical field through my brother, who had cerebral palsy, gave me a sort of comfort level just by helping care for him and by attending his many hospital visits for surgery and other issues. Then when I was 19, my father was in a car accident. I rode in the ambulance with him as he was transferred to a larger facility to get a CT scan. I questioned the medic about his job so much that he finally invited me to ride along with them just to shut me up – and the rest is history.

I worked in EMS in my rural hometown, then later in New Orleans, so ED nursing was the next step in keeping the adrenalin going. My first and only vanity license plate after becoming an ER nurse said “MORE EPI”! I can remember a feeling of panic when I thought I wouldn’t be able to immediately work in the ED after graduating from nursing school, but thankfully I did and was able to meet my partners in crime, Jan Beck & Shayne Middleton. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of being able to identify and intervene with someone who is critically ill or injured. It’s an instant gratification, and not only do nurses’ actions affect patients, the patients affect us as well, teaching us empathy and patience.

I’m proud of our profession and even more proud that I can continue to support nursing with my amazing three partners in my role as Director of Client Services.